Thank You, President Obama

[LeftishBritInPA]

The Editors: Thank You, President Obama | The New Republic

Yes, it was a few years too late. Yes, his hand was forced by Joe Biden and Arne Duncan. Yes, his statement is just a statement—it does not change any law. And yes, we shouldn’t minimize the role of an extraordinary civil rights movement—comprising millions of average Americans, gay and straight—in dragging our country over the past two decades toward the current moment, one where a president could feel politically able to take such a stand. But none of this should minimize the significance of what took place yesterday in Washington. President Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage was both substantively important and politically brave. And he deserves enormous credit for it.

 

[Seymour]

An election year gambit to be sure.

They really think this guy just decided this, or honestly believed anything else? the public has to be dumb if they don't see how these are calculated political moves, these people are careerists. If the polls or endorsements were rolling in from someone else you'd see Obama parroting their line rather than the one he is now.

Also, I just saw in the paper that Obama "came to this decision after much personal searching/questioning and talking to his daughter". Is he kidding? Now supposing he's telling the truth about that, it's a bit disturbing to know that Obama gets advice from middleschoolers.

 

[Twilight Hue]

An election year gambit to be sure.

They really think this guy just decided this, or honestly believed anything else? the public has to be dumb if they don't see how these are calculated political moves, these people are careerists. If the polls or endorsements were rolling in from someone else you'd see Obama parroting their line rather than the one he is now.

Also, I just saw in the paper that Obama "came to this decision after much personal searching/questioning and talking to his daughter". Is he kidding? Now supposing he's telling the truth about that, it's a bit disturbing to know that Obama gets advice from middleschoolers.

Of course. Bout the only time politicians attempt damage control is when election time draws ever near.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

An election year gambit to be sure.

They really think this guy just decided this, or honestly believed anything else? the public has to be dumb if they don't see how these are calculated political moves, these people are careerists. If the polls or endorsements were rolling in from someone else you'd see Obama parroting their line rather than the one he is now.

Also, I just saw in the paper that Obama "came to this decision after much personal searching/questioning and talking to his daughter". Is he kidding? Now supposing he's telling the truth about that, it's a bit disturbing to know that Obama gets advice from middleschoolers.

Agreed, I wouldn't trust Obama after his first lie anyway...

 

[HerDotness]

Also, I just saw in the paper that Obama "came to this decision after much personal searching/questioning and talking to his daughter". Is he kidding? Now supposing he's telling the truth about that, it's a bit disturbing to know that Obama gets advice from middleschoolers.

Oh, for Whatever's sake! Can't the man say that a number of factors led him to announce a change of mind about gay marriage, among them his having talked to his older daughter about the issue? Kids her age typically have a much different perspective on being gay than adults do since kids have grown up in a time when other kids they know having same-sex parents is just how it is, no big deal. Obama, on the other hand, is old enough more than likely only to have met openly same-sex couples as an adult, so it's understandable that he might have spoken with his daughter about how she regards the gay parents of her friends and fellow students.

It's akin to trying to explain to a kid today that you can remember when there were restaurants that served only white people and blacks weren't even allowed to go into them to buy something to drink. Very different perspectives.

You'd have a point that conferring with his daughter was inappropriate if he'd said that was the only thing that led him to this decision.

Geez, at least be fair to the man even though you obviously dislike him.

 

[Revoltingest]

Please note that even though I think Obama is the presidential equivalent of Typhoid Mary,
I gave him credit in another thread for joining the ranks of progressives like Dick Cheney.

 

[Nashitheki]

They would vote for Satan if he were running against Obama.

No matter how they play it off, it gets in their crawl to have a person of color in the White House.

 

[Seymour]

Oh, for Whatever's sake! Can't the man say that a number of factors led him to announce a change of mind about gay marriage, among them his having talked to his older daughter about the issue? Kids her age typically have a much different perspective on being gay than adults do since kids have grown up in a time when other kids they know having same-sex parents is just how it is, no big deal. Obama, on the other hand, is old enough more than likely only to have met openly same-sex couples as an adult, so it's understandable that he might have spoken with his daughter about how she regards the gay parents of her friends and fellow students.

It's akin to trying to explain to a kid today that you can remember when there were restaurants that served only white people and blacks weren't even allowed to go into them to buy something to drink. Very different perspectives.

You'd have a point that conferring with his daughter was inappropriate if he'd said that was the only thing that led him to this decision.

Geez, at least be fair to the man even though you obviously dislike him.

But yet even during the Abolition era there were people who didn't need to talk to their sons and daughters about how they felt about slavery. They wanted to abolish slavery because they came to that conclusion on their own. There's really no need to talk to your kids about it at all, because a real leader should be able to justify his own point of view.

If Obama's claims are true, the whole assertion that he did this after talking to his daughter means that he can easily be swayed by a small child who is probably only capable of making emotional arguments. But if it's false, it's a cutesy attempt to get the gay vote and appear like a good family man at the same time. It just smacks of unctuousness, mendacity, and utter fakeness masquerading as truth.

 

[Nashitheki]

Agreed, I wouldn't trust Obama after his first lie anyway...

Like he's the only president who has ever lied. The last one sure did tell a whopper concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but that only got thousands of people killed. No big deal, eh ?

 

[LeftishBritInPA]

They would vote for Satan if he were running against Obama.

No matter how they play it off, it gets in their crawl to have a person of color in the White House.

Tired of all the Obama-bashing. No matter what President Obama does people keep criticizing him. The thing is that they don't even make good points. They're just upset that there's a Black man in the white house.

Obama singlehandedly helped to capture the world's most vile terrorist, Osama bin Laden and brought America back from the second Great Depression, a result of Republicans robbing people blind for 8 years. He now is extending civil rights to a long-oppressed group of individuals. And this is the thanks He gets: being insulted by a bunch of low-life rednecks. Sad, really.

 

[Nashitheki]

Tired of all the Obama-bashing. No matter what President Obama does people keep criticizing him. The thing is that they don't even make good points. They're just upset that there's a Black man in the white house.

Obama singlehandedly helped to capture the world's most vile terrorist, Osama bin Laden and brought America back from the second Great Depression, a result of Republicans robbing people blind for 8 years. He now is extending civil rights to a long-oppressed group of individuals. And this is the thanks He gets: being insulted by a bunch of low-life rednecks. Sad, really.

My cousin says they are angry white people who have been brainwashed into thinking Obama is behind all the problems that Bush and Cheney caused. As far as supposedly singlehandedly capturing/killing bin Laden, Obama cannot take full credit.

 

[LeftishBritInPA]

My cousin says they are angry white people who have been brainwashed into thinking Obama is behind all the problems that Bush and Cheney caused. As far as supposedly singlehandedly capturing/killing bin Laden, Obama cannot take full credit.

Your cousin is right. Look no farther than FOX News, the Tea Party, etc. Any reasonable person knows you can't change 8 years of far-right mistakes over night. 80% of the problems we have now are due to the bush administration.

I never said Obama should take full credit for the capture of osama, but he can certainly take more credit than "Curious" george bush for it!

 

[dust1n]

But yet even during the Abolition era there were people who didn't need to talk to their sons and daughters about how they felt about slavery. They wanted to abolish slavery because they came to that conclusion on their own. There's really no need to talk to your kids about it at all, because a real leader should be able to justify his own point of view.

If Obama's claims are true, the whole assertion that he did this after talking to his daughter means that he can easily be swayed by a small child who is probably only capable of making emotional arguments. But if it's false, it's a cutesy attempt to get the gay vote and appear like a good family man at the same time. It just smacks of unctuousness, mendacity, and utter fakeness masquerading as truth.

This sounds like the most desperate and lame attempt to discredit what Obama said. So, really, Obama said it because he realizes that anti-gay marriage folk are against the liberty of others and bigots, generally speaking, not because his daughter proposed the idea to Obama for the first time. Great work, detective.

 

[dust1n]

Tired of all the Obama-bashing. No matter what President Obama does people keep criticizing him. The thing is that they don't even make good points. They're just upset that there's a Black man in the white house.

Obama singlehandedly helped to capture the world's most vile terrorist, Osama bin Laden and brought America back from the second Great Depression, a result of Republicans robbing people blind for 8 years. He now is extending civil rights to a long-oppressed group of individuals. And this is the thanks He gets: being insulted by a bunch of low-life rednecks. Sad, really.

I don't know about all of that, but I do agree with you that this first complaint was really something... bad. Apparently, Obama should just blanketly speak the truth whenever he has a feeling or thought. Otherwise, he's a PR liar! And nothing about what he says could be true, since he just lies. And if he didn't lie, of course he would be the only one super-truthful blunt leader to have ever existed and never get elected... but than perhaps that gives insights to the original complaint.

 

[Nashitheki]

Like I said -

Democrat
Republican

The two heads of a two headed monster who for it's own purposes revels in keeping Americans divided. I trust neither head knowing it's a monster as a whole.

 

[Revoltingest]

Even if Obama doesn't really believe that gay marriage is right,
at least he boxed himself in so that he won't politically be able
to oppose it. I'm in favor of such progress, even if it's disingenuous.

 

[LeftishBritInPA]

This sounds like the most desperate and lame attempt to discredit what Obama said. So, really, Obama said it because he realizes that anti-gay marriage folk are against the liberty of others and bigots, generally speaking, not because his daughter proposed the idea to Obama for the first time. Great work, detective.

I wonder if conservatives and the anti-Obama crowd realize just how ridiculous and idiotic they sound. I'll take a dishonest Obama over the most honest republican any day of the week. Obama is the only person who can save America, and it's a shame that not being a US citizen I can't legally vote for him.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Like he's the only president who has ever lied. The last one sure did tell a whopper concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but that only got thousands of people killed. No big deal, eh ?

Of course not, in fact it's hard to find a politician that doesn't lie! But that doesn't make a difference.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

They would vote for Satan if he were running against Obama.

No matter how they play it off, it gets in their crawl to have a person of color in the White House.

So according to you, everyone who is against Obama, is because he is black?

 

[gnomon]

Tired of all the Obama-bashing. No matter what President Obama does people keep criticizing him. The thing is that they don't even make good points. They're just upset that there's a Black man in the white house.

Obama singlehandedly helped to capture the world's most vile terrorist, Osama bin Laden and brought America back from the second Great Depression, a result of Republicans robbing people blind for 8 years. He now is extending civil rights to a long-oppressed group of individuals. And this is the thanks He gets: being insulted by a bunch of low-life rednecks. Sad, really.

He has not extended civil rights to anyone.

The failure of the housing market was set in motion before Bush ever came into office, ignored by most on both sides of the aisle and looking at unemployment numbers and the increasing number of unemployed no longer filing it is clear we are not out of this economic state at this point in time, the drone strikes in Pakistan have worried both right and left wing individuals who are concerned about our foreign policy and it's quite evident that Obama did not singlehandedly capture, let alone kill, the world's most vile terrorist.

What he did do in making his statement is timed at the kick start of his campaign, timed for donors, follows his VP in making a statement openly supporting marriage equality, upholds a view of federalism when many are arguing that this is not a federalist but a civil rights issue.......

Let's not make things our for what they are not.

I give him credit for making the statement and given how much his campaign has already taken in on the donation front I doubt the angle that he is seeking campaign finances. His support and efforts that did lead to the repeal of DADT deserve a lot of credit. Personally, I've always believed that he supports marriage equality but he has to play a careful game of politics. But that just means we cannot take anything these politicians say at face value.